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' M.. A. CUMING.

HAT PRESSING MACHINE.

Patented June13', 1876.

MPETERS. PHOTO L TIIUGAP UNITED fS'rA'ms MARI A. CUMING, OF'NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN HAT'PRESSING MACHINES.

' Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 178,740, dated June 13, 1876; application filed Aprn 4, 187e. l

To valltohom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARI A. CUMING, of New York, in the county and lState of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Hydraulic Hat-Pressing Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same...

My invention relates, moreV particularly, vto certain improvements in machines similar to the one for which Letters Patent No. 167,506, dated September 7, 1875, were heretofore granted to me; and it consists in a novel construction of the locking device for securing the dome when lowered toits seat,`whereby the locking is accomplished in a moreuniform manner, and a lgreater amount of initiatory pressure is acquired.

In my patent of September 7, 1875, afore` said, Ythe locking device consists of 'a lever ar ranged to oscillatein a horizontal plane underneath the mold, saidlever being provided with lips or tongues entering slots in sliding rods which carry the dome, when said slots are below the lbearings -in which said sliding rods Work, and said locking-lever is operated by the lever which serves to raise and lowerJ the dome.

In my present invention the lockingdevice is arranged above or on the top of the dome, and consists -of a series of sliding bolts 'or keys connected by links to a central pivot having a reciprocating 'rotary motion, and provided with a lever or other means for operating it. The bolts or keys engage with slots in stationary rods attached to the frame of the machine, and extending through openings near the edges of the dome. Said bolts or keys are tapering or wedge-shaped, and the further they enter the slots the greater is the pressure upon the dome.

This invention is applicable to machines of various descriptions, but is here shown as ap- -plied to a machine similar to the one described in my patent aforesaid.

The accompanying drawing represents such a machine provided with my improved locking device.

Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of the entire machine, taken in the line x w of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view taken in the line y y.

,bin'ed, operate as a toggle-joint.

Fig. 3 isa top view, showing l the locking device in one position; and Fig. 4 is a similar view, showing it in another posi# tion.

^ The stand or frame-'work A, for supporting the working parts, may be of any suitable construction, and is provided with lugs, forming bearings for sliding rods B, the lower endsof which are attached toa cross-head, C, and the upper ends to the dome D. Under the crosshead Gis a rock-shaft, E, having its bearings.

in the frame A, and provided with a 'handle or lever, F. Thel rock-shaft E is connected,

with the cross-head C by an arm. G1,and link G2. The handle F, rock-shaft E, and arm G1, combined, operate as a lever of the first order, and the link Gr2 and arm G1, com- 'Ihe cross.- head C is connected with a lever, H, provided with an adjustable counterbalance-weight,.It.

The mold K is arranged in the upper part of` the frame A, resting upon or over a chamber, J, for Aholding steam or hot water.

The parts above described are ofsubstantially the same construction as those of asimilar character shown in my patent of Septem-'I ber 7, 1875, aforesaid; and the dome D is raised and lowered by the operation of the handle F and its connections, in the same manner as described in said patent. Y

vThevdome D carries a flexible diaphragm,l d, and is supplied with water in any suitable manner. VIt may also be provided with a reservoir for holding water, and with a gage for determining the pressure of water in the dome.

On the top of the dome is a cylinder, O, in which Works a piston or plnn ger, P, connected by a link, p, With a handle or lever, Q, provided with a spring-dog, q, arranged to engage with the notches 1' in an arm, R, instead of the holes in said arm shown in my patent aforesaid. l

` The mold K may be constructed to serve as a die for giving the external form to the hat, or it may serve as a seat for a block vor die.

The work is placed in the mold K, and the dome is lowered in the manner before described, so as to bring the diaphragm d in contact with the work.l

Instead of the lever L, operated by the handle F, for locking the dome, as described in mypatent aforesaid, I employ a'locking suitable means.

device constructed and operated as follows: At points equidistant from each other, near the periphery of the dome and mold, are upright posts or rods M, the lower ends of which are rigidly attached to the frame A or mold K, and the upper portions pass through openings in the dome. There may be any suitable number of these posts' or rods; but the'four shown herein are deemed sufficient for illustration. In cachrod M, near itsupper end, is a slot, m, and when the dome is lowered to its seat on the mold the slots m are above the `portion of the dome in which are the openings through which the rodspass. In the center ofthe top of the domeis a pivot, N, provided rwith a number of radial lugs or short arms, n,

corresponding `with the number of 4rods or posts M. The lugs or arms n are connected by links s with bolts or keys S, each of which is constructed for engagement with one of the slots m, and passes through a guideblock, t, which prevents any deviation from a rectilineal motion. When the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the bolts or keys S are engaged with' the slots m, and the dome is securely locked in place on its seat, and prevented from rising. p

When the central pivot N is turned in the direction indicated by the arrow the bolts or keys'S are withdrawn from the slots m bythe links s, the parts assuming the positions shown in Fig. 4, and the dome may then be raised. By turning the pivot in the opposite direction the parts are brought to the rst position to lock the dome; and they are prevented from moving too far in said opposite directionby means of' shoulders or projections l on the top of the dome, serving as stops, and arresting the further motion of the parts, after each link reaches a position in a straight line with the bolt or key and its corresponding lug or The central pivot N may be turned byV any It is here represented as provided with a handle, n", for turning it. The bolts or keys S are tapered or inclined toward their outer ends, so that as they enter the slots m they operate after the manner of are forced into the slots,in consequence of the tapering or wedge-like form of' said keys, as the farther they enter the slots the greater is the downward pressure exerted on the dome, and the more closely is the domeheld in contact with its seat.

By the construction and arrangement of the locking device herein described, the locking lof the dome is accomplished in a uniform manner, as the force is evenly distributed around the edges of the dome; and as the locking force is mostly exerted in a downward direction, with a tendency to hold the machine more steadily on its feet, the liability of' displacing the machine is not so great as in the former mode of' constructing and operating the lookin g device.

The bolts or keys S need not be confined to a straight form and rectilineal motion, as they may be of curved form, and operate with a curvilineal motion, and accomplish the same result as above described 5 but by the construction and arrangement'herein described, the keys and their connections partake of the character of toggle-joints, and I am thereby enabled to gain more power to force the keys home in the slots.

WhatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination. with the dome and slotted posts or rodsot' a hat-pressing machine, the sliding bolts or keys S, connecting-links s, and central reciprocally-rofating pivotor spindle N, arranged" and operating substantially as and for the' purpose herein described.

2. The bolts or keys S, of tapering or wed gelike form, in combination with the dome D and the posts or rods M, having slots m, substantially as and for 'the purpose herein described.

j M. A. GUMING. Witnesses: y

E. R. BROWN, FRED. HAYNES. 

